Thanksgiving - always?

This past week I have been thinking about the concept of beeing thankful... We many times compare ourselves to others less fortunate and think of how blessed we are in comparison to them. Thus, the misfortunes of others sometimes serve as reminders of our fortunes...

What happens though when life deals us the worst of blows, when devastating life circumstances arise unexpectedly - thrusting us into the midst of fiery storms? When all material things are taken from us, when deprived of our loved ones prematurely, when stricken with fatal illness, when all that seems of value to us on this earth is swept away - what then? Where is thanksgiving to be found then?

There is a lot of misfortune that I see in the hospital unit where I work - a Burn/Trauma Intensive Care Unit. Just in the past week, I helped care for young men faced with a future much different from what they expected. The loss of limbs, the inability to move or feel below the chest - shattered plans for the future, drastically altered life trajectories. When seeing such devastation, it is easy to say, "How lucky we are to have all our limbs" or "How thankful we should be that we have healthy,strong bodies." As I pondered the life circumstances of these young men, the thought came to my mind - can there be thanksgiving in the midst of such suffering? According the God's Word, there can...

"For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11

According to this verse, when walking in the Lord, we are to be content not only in all the joys of life, but in all the hardships as well. "Whatsoever state" encompasses all things, even the extreme experince of Job. How? Why?

"And be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

Herein is the secret to peace, joy, contentment. The secret to a spirit of thanksgiving no matter the outward circumstance - the abiding favor and love of God for His children. No life circumstance can steal away from us this blessed truth of God's favor for us. He loves us, even when we are in the rage of the storm. The heart of the great and all-powerful God of the universe longingly yearns for close, intimate proximity to our hearts - even in the midst of our life's toughest trials. Oh blessed thought this is! Life may beat us down. Satan may seek to break our bodies and spirit. But throw at us what they may, our life circumstances cannot separate us from the love of God!

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35,38-39.

And oh how we should be thankful for the love and favor of God towards us! To think that He who reigns the universe; the source of all majesty, power and glory, wants to restore us into His eternal kingdom is indescribable and should fill us with joy. In the end, what really matters is that the love and favor of God for us remains. Our health may wane, our possessions may dwindle, we may have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but whatever happens, the love of God remains. As such, there is always a reason to be thankful :)